Bunhongsin (2005)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Yong-gyun Kim

Writers:

Hans Christian Andersen (fairy tale)
Yong-gyun Kim (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 June 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Ever wanted anything so badly you would die for it?

Plot:

A woman who finds a pair of pink high heels on a subway platform soon realizes that jealousy, greed, and death follow them wherever they go.

Plot Keywords:

Shoes | Subway | Jealousy | Ghost | Curse

Cast

Hye-su Kim	...	Sun-jae
Seong-su Kim	...	In-cheol
Yeon-ah Park	...	Tae-su
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Su-hee Go
Eol Lee
Hyon-Jin Sa

Also Known As:

The Red Shoes (International: English title) (DVD title) (USA)

Runtime:

103 min | South Korea:109 min (uncut version)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIA | USA:Not Rated | Malaysia:18SG | Malaysia:U (cut) | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA (2007) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | Germany:16 (uncut version) | UK:15 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Quotes:

Sun-jae: [Angry] Mommy loves Tae-soo very much... But mommy really hates when Tae-soo lies.
Tae-su: [Crying] It's not a lie! Daddy really came! He said he's too cold and to take him out!
Sun-jae: [Angry] Don't lie to me!... I told you that daddy couldn't come here. How can he? I told you he can't come here, so how could he? How can he?... Why did you lie? Why did you lie?
Tae-su: [Crying] Mommy. Mommy.
Sun-jae: [Sun-jae realizes what she had done to her daughter and hugs her]
[Crying]
Sun-jae: Tae-soo. Tae-soo... Tae-soo, I'm sorry. Mommy was wrong... Tae-soo. Tae-soo... Tae-soo, mommy was wrong. I was wrong. Mommy was wrong...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Vertigo (1958)

My shoes could beat up your shoes!

'Bunhongshin' (Pink Shoes) is a fine example of the growing Korean film industry. While still lacking enough refinements for universal appeal, it still is an entertaining yarn and a fine scary movie.

A pair of bright pink shoes keep popping up on a subway line. For inexplicable reasons, any girl who sees them becomes violently attached to the shoes (to the point of beating anyone who might touch them), that is until someone/thing comes along and severs the girls feet as a penance for wearing the garment.

Visually top-notch, with nice color and camera usage. Most notable are the scare scenes; the imagery in these scenes is creepy and effective in conveying dread. Some limited optical effects and CG round out the package.

Performance wise, it's a mixed bag and where the film takes the biggest hit. Acting is suffice, but nothing special. The story just doesn't work; it is not only disjointed and uninvolved, it's also just plain difficult to understand what the hell happened in the end. As is the norm for many Korean film, the pacing is all kinds of wrong; taking way too long to make a point and dragging on way too many scenes needlessly.

For the spot-on horror imagery, 'Bunhongshin' is one to look out for, just try to ignore the scripting and pacing issues.

7/10